UK Cuts Make Washington Nervous

Hilary Clinton has expressed worry at the extent of cuts to the UK arms budget by urging British defence minister William Hague to give assurances that Britain's future capability as a major world player will not suffer at the hands of the spending review to be announced next week. Her main concerns were that the British, and other European powers, who were seeking to lessen their huge budget deficits, might weaken themselves to such a level that the burden of responsibility for policing the world's hot-spots would fall increasingly more on the United States administration.

Commentators have predicted scything cuts in Wednesday's review which could have the affect of inducing a major social upheaval in Britain as front-line services are cut to the bone, forcing they say, communities to rally themselves to maintain basic services. There is widespread apathy when it comes to politics in Britain and the proposed spending review has attracted little dissent as yet. Once, however, the full program is announced by the Chancellor, George Osbourne, and the full extent is realised I am predicting major social upheaval akin to the poll tax riots in the early eighties. The British are renowned for their reserve but they can only be pushed so far before they are liable to crack.

Furthermore, defence cuts are likely to be extremely unpopular with the British public who have become increasingly nervous about the progress of the war and the number of casualties. It is a common belief that the public regards the role of the British armed forces as being disproportionate compared to other European powers such as Germany and France. The British government currently commit over 8000 troops in Afghanistan which is more than the French, German and Italian forces combined. The United States currently has approaching 30,000 soldiers in Afghanistan.

My feelings are that it is necessary for our troops to be in the region to counter the threat of insurgents in an already volatile region. Non-action could ultimately lead to the re-emergence of the Taliban in the region and a possible destabilization of surrounding countries such as Pakistan. The area is rife also with terrorist training camps which pose an even greater threat to the domestic security of allied countries.